After booking my first ever trip to Poland last Jan
i thought i would share the whole event with you
as we landed into warsaw airport the reality had over took the dream
but the following events that was to unfold put a whole new twist on the trip
our taxi


view from inside once loaded


following a 4 hour transfer we eventually arrived at our hotel in Browsk our final hunting destination in the forrest for the next 5 days
FIRST NIGHT
a usually meet and greet from our hotellior , then saw the arrival of our hunting guides , their first words were " hello and you want hunt tonite"
OH YESSSSS came the reply
after sitting down to a hearty meal we set off into the moonlit Night
it then became apparrent, that this trip was going to be a complete and utter white out

http://i213.photobucket.com/al...4/P1050005.jpg[/IMG]

[size=150]FANTASTIC[/size]
as we entered the forrest and slowly drove down one of the many winding forrest tracks, my guide slowly came to a halt and turned the lights off
at this moment my heart starting to pound, with a slight shortness of breath,
i proceeded to load my Brno 30-06, with 5 180grain homeloads
it was at this point i knew, it had begun
we slowly stalked down the moonlit forrest track as quitely as we could CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH was the sound of the snow under every footstep, every few steps we stopped and glassed, not sure where we were looking or at what
suddenly it appeared in the binos a mass of dark pig like shapes about 150 yards away
christopher looked at me and smiled
in his best broken english it was signalled to me 2nd boar on left was mine
i slowly crawlled into a suitable shooting position, now lying prone in 8-10 inches of snow in the rutted forest track about 130yrds away now
damn it was a little uncomfortable,
turned on the illuminated reticle and took aim
my boar now looked so little compared to the monster of a kieller stood next to it
i placed the red dot on the shoulder of my boar, gently eased of the safety and pulled
BOOOMMMM
echoed the rifle in the thick forrest, then came the dreaded sound i reconised from times of past, the cracking of branches in the distant
the guide looked at me and gestured, in my mind i knew i had missed
few seconds later we were at the feed site where the boar had stood, nothing, no hair, no blood,
slowly we seacherd the area for any more clues, which confirmed to my myself and the guide i had missed
we saw more boar after this but no shot available
about 30 boar in total seen so far, and it was only the first night
by 11:30pm, i had landed back at the hotel, now with a little sadness and disbelief, i trudged through the snow to the back stairwell by my room ,suddenly it felt like the ground was moving
i had slipped on the snow covered iced up surface, crashing down on to my back and left arm , my rifle clatterd on the floor besides me
lay besides that was the illuminated turret of the sope
could it get any worse........
Day 2
next morning i woke nursing a bruised elbow and broken scope
i met my guide who decided we would still go out and check out the rifle, it was out but not by much and still usable at 50 yards
following a quick repair from Mark with a bit of superglue and some micro-pores tape


another quick zeroing session revealed a not so badly damaged scope after all 16 clicks right and 8 clicks up had me back on inch high at a hundred
big sigh of relief from all
now nearly 2pm we headed out again
going from one ride to another glassing for boar
the going was tough, still a little demoralised from last nights events
we met up with mark, claire and there guide for a chat
mark now grinning like a cheshire cat revealed his prize
one for one fantastic
10 mins later off we went again
as we aproched my guides favourite feed site he stopped with a tap on his shoulder, i pointed , he comfirmed Boar and suitable sized ones at that about 20 in the group
now at about 150yrds, we chose which one i was to take, our system was simple
the SMALLEST one, by holding my left hand up and amount of fingers he could count from the left which boar i had chosen
at this my guide said "Richard , go get your pig"
again i placed the red dot placed on the shoulder , again the 30-06 sounded off into the night
the boar scatterd
lay in the middle of the ride was a dark shape now trembling with excitement and jubilation my guide jumping for joy,
suddenly the boar moved
seeing this , a now in full flight christopher, flung off his binos , his gloves and knife was out ready i followed
on reaching the boar it was going nowhere
i had spined it,
seconed shot to the head ended the suffering
following a offering of a branch on his hat, which i graciously accepted, he shook my hand in joy



then after a quick gralloch , we were back at the hotel to talk about the nights events with mark claire and a few other polish hunters
where i sampled a few of the traditional delights
Wild boar ham and sausauge

a drink called bimba(home made vodka) or simply classed as rocket fuel

met a few more guests

and finaly bedtime
saturday day 3
after waking up , suffering a think head thick head and lack of sleep
we had already arranged that we would not be hunting this morning but out on a day trip arranged by one of the guide's wife
we visted a beaver damn




enjoyed a sleigh ride which

me and claire

where we made a fire drunk mulled wine and cooked sausage



back to the hotel light lunch and my guide was there waiting for me
as we got to the first hunting place, a sounder of boar were already feeding in the ride


slowly crunching our way down the snow filled forrest track, it was suggested i go alone to get into a suitable shooting position then as and when take my chance now about 150 yards away i lay downand tried to crawl closer
as i slid through the snow i felt a coldness that shook my body, the boar had moved on, my heart sank, my excitment slowly edged away, they had gone
suddenly from the right a new bunch appeared Phew
the shakes were back
i once again i signalled tomy guide and chose my boar
this time they were milling around squabbling, desperatley i tried to keep my eye on the chosen one
it went quiet the boar stood still an opening appeared and the 30-06 shattered the silence once more, within seconeds the ride was clear but i knew i had connected
my guide confirmed my thoughts by saying how the boar reacted to the shot
a chest shot but not perfect
we waited for all the commotion to die down and made our way down the the point of strike
lots of blood and a good blood trail to follow


as we tracked the blood in the snow tell tale signs started to appear
stomach contents

blood covered futiments

things were not looking good, my guide was now confused wondering where the boar was
i was not
i knew now the bullet had struck low and unzipped the stomach
this was now going to be a difficult track as it was reaching nearly 600+ yards in a ever thicking forrest, light was now fading and the moon had not yet risen over the tree tops

we reached an area that was now becoming impossible to penetrate
i knew at this point we needed a dog and so did the guide
from here we made our way back to the motor
A dog man was called,
from here i saw a different side of tracking something i had heard about but not yet experienced
we got back to the strike point and from there my guide led the search, a little confused now
i soon worked out why
no need to let the dog off here as we knew where the trail had taken us so we just follwed our tracks in the snow till we reached where we had stopped
it was here dogman took over
unleashing the Yak terrier on to an untouched blood scent, it took of like the devil it's self, weaving in and out of the trees untill it disappeared
in the distance the terrier started yapping in a fit of excitement, the dogman leapt into actoin moving like linford christie towards the excited terrier
this point my guide told us the boar was still alive nearly 2 1/2 hours later from the initial shot
then came the tell tale sign a shot rang out and the terrier was quite
a shout from inside the dense undergrowth had us making our way to see what had gone on
the terrier had caught up with the boar and was biting it's back end yapping like mad causing the boar to bail around in circles
so keeping the boar in one place while it's master could locate them both from the yapping noise,
if the terrier had just sounded off in a howling way it would of indicated it had found the boar dead
so after the gralloch both my guide and i dragged the boar back to the motor
27kg
our dog man and his tool of the trade

after the track me in the middle

some evening but a good ending, tracking like i hav never seen before
SUNDAY
the morning the stalk was going slow
not a sign of boar anywhere
we did see some more Bison........tracks

and managed to see a few deer but not many pics




as we drove along a paticular stretch of road my guide stopped the viehcle and pointed
Bison.... i could see.... Bison, at this point camera out at a flash and door open i was off
though a little way off about 500+ yards we decided to stalk closer, this involed crossing a small iced over ditch
my guide first, i was not daft........
then me
2 steps in and felt that funny sinking feeling ..mad scramble to the bank but to late
still the quest for pics must go on
my icy hole
S
now at -10 a cold feeling was starting to creep in,
yep i was bloody freezing or atleast my feet were, time for home
wellies now firmly tucked into the heated towel rail
breakfast was ready a platter of bread meat and cheese with a few veg thrown in, thank god no more fish
as claire and mark arrived back i told them my mornings story, wish i hadn't p155 taking pair
this afternoon we had another day trip planned as hunting was not to restart till about 6pm
museum trip with a difference
the museum was all about the area we were hunting and it habitants, fauna and flora
this we had a guided tour off

The evening hunt was again under a good moon
as we hit the first feed ride nothing same as the seconed, the 3rd ride produced a kieller as did the 4th sadly no pics as my guide was getting a little desperate
our situation was i had paid for 5 boar in with my package
with 2 in the bag and 2 nights left my guide knew it would be a struggle his aim was to succeed no matter what,
as the moon rose higher in the sky we went back to the first feed site to be greeted with a sounder of about 15 boar all milling around searching for food
again i chose my specific target keeping my eye on it, slowly stalked into a small whip of a sapling , distance now about 70yrds from the boar
as i knelt quitely into the crusty iced over snow, i heard a different sound, the large boar to the right seemed to push in and sperate the bunch , piglets squealing in a sort of excited frenzy,
my guide now looking concerned
suddenly a gap appeared around my boar no time for watching further, a chance had opened up, illuminated dot now on the boar's, shoulder safety catch firmly pushed to fire, finger on trigger and tension taken,suddenly the boar in the scope grew..... a kieller was blocking the shot, a little nervousness and a sigh of relief as i eased off the trigger thinking of how much that could of cost me
as time dragged on , seemed like an enternity, even though only a few minutes had passed,
the kieller now had moved but my boar had joined the group again
seconeds later i chose another target , confirmed this with my guide and no mistake this time
as the boar scarpered i knew my aim was true
we walked to the shot site and saw a pool of blood this time, i led the track withinn 40 yards my guide tapped me on the shoulder and pointed
15 yards on was my boar laying dead, a good heart/ lung shot had brought my confidence levels back upto form



3 in the bag both my guide and i feeling good
MONDAY
this was our last day hunting
this morning was trully to be start of a special day
no morning stalk but a chance for a little group outing looking at the local wildlife
thou i had seen the Bison already Mark and Claire had not
so this was the aim
by damn the gods were in our favour
from the road Bison were spotted but this time i spotted a bunch along side the forest grazing quick word with the rest a plan was made and a small stalk was on
FANTASTIC
as we entered closed to the clearing this was the sights that bestowed us


now back for lunch and awaited our guides
time for for a little walk in the forest to see what i could see





as we set out on the afternoon stalk,
first feed site we came too a small family group had just come into view ,
as they settled i placed the x hairs on the shoulder of a rather small boar, signalled to my guide as to which one and pulled the trigger
this time i knew my shot was good , as lay in the track was my boar
no airs and graces, just a well placed shot that rocked.......



onto the next site a red was feeding


next ride as we stalked in we knew from the commotion we were in luck
as my guide stepped forward 6 paces then stopped, i followed suit peering through our glasses every time we stopped
slowly crunching through the snow my heart now pounding like it was the very first time i had stalked even though it was -9....
i was starting to sweat excitement now overtaking my calm exterior
suddenly i could see through the trees about 20 boar out on the field
my guide pushed me infront the breaze was starting to swirl amongst the trees
i now slowly stalked in now on my hands and knees
this time no mistake my chosen boar was out 5 yards from the rest
as i leaned against a tall tree i felt the need for urgency why..... i need not hav they were going nowhere
x hairs once again place low on the boar's shoulder, safety eased off and breathing starting to get a little heavy now
i waited till the shakes had stopped and placed my finger on the trigger, slowly sqeezing as i did
booooommmm
as the sound of the rifle echoed through the tree tops , boar scattered in all directions
my guide already patting me on the shoulder
my 5th and final boar lay dead



from here we it was still early, so a chance to look at a few more sites possible chance of a photographing a few feeding boar
as we made our way down the snowy forrest track a large shape caught my eye
at this i shouted to my guide stop .....ELK...ELK
my guide slapped the anchors on and rammed his jeep into reverse
the look on his face was enough, i had spotted his favourite forrest dweller of all


now onward bound we went insearch of pics of the boar , as we approached a clearing 3 boar stood out like monsters in the snow, my guide said there is a little one amongst them
if i wanted i could shoot and pay a little extra on the package deal
hell why not , i thought
camera not even thought about and rifle out of i went
leaning against a leg of a highseat i placed the x hairs once more on a black chest of my chosen boar
i squeezed the pig stretched out its legs and ran, i reloaded the boar stopped i thought .....it's down
it moved again , i fired ....missed...!!!!
boar now made the forrest
after an intial search with plenty of blood we gave up after 600-700 yards, once again called for the dog
no mistake the dog was soon onto a quite lively boar bailing it on the spot yapping like mad
now in hot pursuit in the ever thickinig forrest
we stopped and let the dogman get a little closer, a single shot from his shotgun signalled the end
of one fantastic week of hunting polish style



Tuesday
led us back to the airport and on a flight home
customs in warsaw were fantastic , quick easy and effiecient
shame Heathrow never had the same attitude
but now back on my way to the midlands, thinking back on my once of a lifetime expereience in Poland
now looking forward to next year trip
regards
Richard

Great story and pictures! Congrats!

Good job,

Richard, thank you for sharing your ups and downs of a great hunting trip.

Best regards Chris

Tell us some more details about the package hunt specifics.

Who did you book it with and what were the size restrictions on the boar you could shoot?

Can you provide some idea on the costs if you shot a larger boar?

great report good photos and proper report well done on your trip .i hope my trip to hungery is half as good in 10 days time

quote:

Originally posted by DB Bill:
Tell us some more details about the package hunt specifics.

Who did you book it with and what were the size restrictions on the boar you could shoot?

Can you provide some idea on the costs if you shot a larger boar?

DB
the agency we booked with sort of went bump at the last minute
but we managed to arrange the same trip direct so got the trip just a little cheaper, luck of the draw
our package only involved shooting under 30kg's
not sure on how much anything bigger was as we never had a fixed price for it, that would of been pay on the day i suppose if we had made a mistake or decided on a bigger boar
i do recall that a good kieller was serious money thou just not sure how much
Richard

Thanks for the report and pics Richard. Nice hunt, lots of wildlife, local culture - what it's all about.

Welcome to the forums Richard

Thank you for taking the time to write up your trip and for posting all of those wonderful photographs!

Perfect, in fact, for people who would rather spend time dreaming about hunts on the internet than work

Regards,

Amir